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| A socialist newsweekly published in the interests of working people Vol. 64/No. 25  June 26, 2000
LettersJock Barnes, union fighter I'm writing to let readers of the Militant know of the death of Jock Barnes in Auckland, New Zealand, at the age of 92. Barnes, whose portrait appeared on the Pathfinder mural (in the section that is used on the front cover of Pathfinder's edition of the Communist Manifesto), was national president of the watersiders (longshoremen) union during the 1951 waterfront lockout, the biggest industrial battle in New Zealand's history. For 151 days, 8,000 watersiders stood firm against an all-out attack from the government and the employers aimed at crushing their union. More than 10,000 other workers, particularly coal miners, meat workers and seafarers, struck in their support. In the years following, there was no prouder boast among class-conscious workers than "I was a fifty-oner." During Barnes's leadership, the watersiders union was at the forefront of the upsurge of the union movement after World War II, setting an example of militancy, union democracy, and internationalism. For instance, the union-led opposition to New Zealand participation in the imperialist wars against Korea and Malaya, in the latter case under the slogan "Not a son or a gun for Malaya." In a 1981 interview, Barnes said the main lesson that workers could draw from the 1951 experience was that "faced with a situation like we were--an all-out offensive by the capitalist class--there is only one answer: fight and make it cost them every penny you can possibly make them pay.... When they really put the pressure on, you have two choices--you can stand up and fight or you can lie down and grovel. It's as simple as that." Terry Coggan The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.
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